Caught
by sn0white09
Summary: Elliot and Olivia find themselves in an awkward situation while chasing a suspect. EO.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Elliot and Olivia find themselves in an awkward situation while chasing a suspect. EO.  
**Rating:** T, just to be safe  
**Disclaimer:** The show and characters aren't mine. Trust me, you'd know if they were.  
**Pairing:** Olivia/Elliot  
**A/N:** This is just something that quickly popped into my head. Not sure if I should just leave it at this or make it a two-shot. Anyways, please read and review.

* * *

**Caught**

They'd been chasing Martin Brown, a serial rapist and drug pedaling murderer, for weeks until their well of information ran dry. And just when they thought the case would go cold, a hesitant victim came forward and provided a tip that led to a promising stakeout. The promising stakeout that at present… wasn't particularly promising. Olivia and Elliot had long ago abandoned their cruiser to avoid easy detection, while Fin and Cragen, were still in their vehicle ready to provide any necessary backup. And they were certainly going to need backup…if anything was actually going to happen, that is.

"I think Ashley was lying. I wonder what else she lied about." Elliot was frustrated… and cold. So damn cold. Every minute that passed by while they were out in the bitter cold was another minute in which his hatred for Fin and Cragen, who were surely nice and toasty in their car, was festering.

"I hope you're not implying what I think you are. Because you _know_ she was attacked… you can't fake that kind of trauma." Olivia knew where Elliot was coming from. She was just as cold, but she wasn't going to let the situation get the best of her. They couldn't both be losing their tempers or things were bound to get chaotic. One of them needed to remain level-headed.

"I'm not… but her description was pretty vague and the shock of her attack is bound to distort her memory a little. How do we know for sure that this is the place?" They'd been patrolling a few nondescript streets in a bad neighbourhood but it was by no means the only crime zone in New York. They were also at a further disadvantage by not being able to use their flashlights; the few streetlights that worked were inadequate to keep the growing darkness at bay.

"Because we have at least three reliable informants who can corroborate her statement. We've been over this before, El."

"I know, I know." For about the thousandth time that night Elliot cupped his hands around his mouth and blew into them to keep his fingers from freezing. It would be absolutely perfect if they did manage to run into their perp and he wouldn't be able to work his gun due to frostbite, Elliot thought.

"Shoulda brought your gloves," Olivia chided him, noticing his actions.

"Thanks," he replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes heavenward.

It had been three long hours and all they heard from their radio, aside from a lot of static, was the occasional call from Fin, checking in to make sure that they were still alive. And just as Elliot was about to suggest that they give up for the night, things finally begun rolling along. The radio clicked to life again and Cragen spoke. "Brown is approaching in your direction, but we can't follow in the car without raising suspicion. I want you and Liv to hide but keep him in plain sight until we get there on foot. He's armed. Got it?"

"Got it, Cap," Elliot responded. He looked around for something big enough for both of them to hide behind, but, alas, there was nothing in sight. No dumpster, no parked cars, not even a damn pile of crates.

"He's turning the corner. You two in place?" _Shit, think fast, Stabler_. All of a sudden he had an idea and he knew Olivia would punch him for what he was about to do later but there wasn't any time to prepare her or to talk it out. If Brown came across them as they were now he'd make them for cops and they'd both be dead. Elliot thought that an ass kicking was well worth his life. So he grabbed Olivia by the shoulders and pushed her against the brick wall.

"El, what the—"

"Shhh!" He interrupted her protests by putting his left hand on her waist and his right hand under her chin. He heard footsteps from his left and ducked his head as if pretending to kiss Olivia's neck but really watching out of the corner of his eye. Olivia seemed to get the gist of his plan because she placed her arms on his back. It was a risky move, hiding in plain sight, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Elliot was waiting for Brown to pass them… and it was taking damn near forever. Being this close to Olivia was a beautiful form of torture. He could smell lavender on her skin; he could smell the fruity scent of her shampoo and it was driving him crazy. Before he could stop himself, Elliot skimmed the sensitive skin of the spot where her neck met her shoulder with his lips and placed the lightest of kisses there. He heard a soft sigh escape her and felt her breath on his ear and it took all of his self control to keep his growing lust, and his body, in check.

Olivia heard the footsteps on her left quickly fade and she opened her eyes, but Brown was nowhere to be seen. _Damn it!_ She didn't know how he'd evaded them; it all happened so quickly. When Elliot pushed her against the wall she quickly realized what he was trying to do. She'd only dreamt of being in such close contact with him and she hoped that one day her dreams would be realized, but not under these pretenses. Her disappointment quickly turned into a shocking delight when she felt his lips on her skin. His touch was so brief and so gentle she thought she'd imagined it... but it was real and her eyes fluttered closed and her arms tightened behind his back. But then she became aware of where they were and what they were supposed to be doing.

Elliot pulled away slowly, feeling slightly intoxicated, and looked to his right, seeing only the empty street ahead. "Where'd he go?" He questioned Olivia, sure that she'd seen where he turned.

"I… uh…" She also seemed hazy and her voice sounded husky so she cleared her throat before continuing, "I didn't see." Elliot gave her a quizzical look and for the first time that night she felt thankful for the poor visibility because she knew he couldn't see her blush as she added quietly, "My eyes were closed."

Before they had a chance to discuss what happened and to formulate a new plan, Fin and Cragen turned the corner, surprising them both. "Are you guys okay? Where's Brown?" Fin asked. Neither Elliot nor Olivia responded immediately; they simply glanced at each other. That sent alarm bells through Fin and Cragen's heads.

"He did pass by you, didn't he? We saw him turn this corner," Cragen questioned suspiciously.

"Yeah… he did. But we didn't see where he went. Sorry." Olivia answered, lowering her eyes. She knew she screwed up, but was sure that Elliot would support her.

"How in the hell did you not see where he went?" Cragen was beginning to lose his patience. His two best detectives were acting like five-year-olds who'd just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Look, its dark and its freezing and we've been out here for a good three hours." Elliot replied in defense.

"I wasn't asking for an excuse. I gave you clear-cut instructions to keep an eye on Brown. It was a simple task and you two somehow found a way to screw it up. This was probably our best chance at catching him."

Sensing that tensions were about to escalate, Fin intervened," Why don't we all go back to the station and get somethin' warm to drink before picking this up again?"

For a few moments no one said anything, and then finally Cragen took a deep breath and announced that they were all to head home to rest up before reconvening first thing in the morning. With a stern look toward both Olivia and Elliot, he turned around and left with Fin following close behind.

Olivia turned to face Elliot and put a hand on his arm. "El, thanks for s—"

"We'll talk about it later," he cut her off. "Come on, let's go, I'll drop you off at home." They walked back to the cruiser at a distance, not saying a word to each other and the ride to Olivia's apartment was just as silent. She couldn't get a read on him at all and wondered what was going through his mind. Was he mad at her? Or at himself? She was beginning to get worried. When they finally got to her building after what seemed like hours, Olivia knew better than to start a conversation and said nothing as she climbed out of the car.

Elliot waited to make sure that she'd entered safely and that the front doors locked behind her before driving back to the station. When he parked the cruiser he decided against driving back home this late and went inside the station. He got to the crib and just laid down on one of the cots, stretching his limbs out. As he drifted off to a fitful sleep, he wondered just how awkward the morning would be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:** Elliot and Olivia find themselves in an awkward situation while chasing a suspect. EO.  
**Rating:** T, just to be safe  
**Disclaimer:** The show and characters aren't mine. Trust me; you'd know if they were.  
**Pairing:** Olivia/Elliot  
**A/N:** Thanks for all the positive feedback, guys. Your comments definitely warmed my heart… and some of them made me laugh hysterically too! So I obviously decided to write a second part… hopefully it's as enjoyable as the first. Let me know what you think =)

* * *

**Caught: Chapter 2**

The next morning, they were back in the squad room, trying to decide how to salvage the Brown case when Munch calmly strolled in.

"You're late." Cragen announced, sounding exasperated.

"I thought I'd get some sight-seeing done after the conference. Turns out the closest thing they have to a tourist attraction up there is some bar where Charles Manson once drank. And, well, you know I had to pay my respects."

Cragen, Fin, Olivia, and Elliot all turned to glare at him. They were evidently not in the mood for one of his attempts at an amusing anecdote, Munch observed. "Tough crowd," he mumbled as he poured himself some of the black sludge that passed for coffee. "So isn't anyone going to ask me how the conference went?"

"Gee, Munch, how was the conference?" Elliot took the bait just to shut him up.

"Meh, nothing I haven't heard before." Munch shrugged. It was amazing, he thought; the way everyone rolled their eyes at him in unison almost looked choreographed. "So what'd I miss?" He walked towards the group and pointed to the corkboard covered in photos, statements, and diagrams. "We still on the, uh, Martin Brown case?"

"We woulda caught the bastard if those two," Fin pointed at Elliot and Olivia, "hadn't screwed it up." Elliot and Olivia shot Fin a matching set of glares but avoided eye contact with each other. Something was definitely going on.

"What'd you guys do? Do I even want to know?" Munch definitely wanted to know. Everyone at SVU was always gossiping about the pair and being the conspiracy nut that he was, he wanted the inside scoop.

"Somehow Brown managed to waltz right past 'em and magically disappear into thin air." Fin answered for them.

"Ok, that's enough of that. We gotta start being productive here. Let's reexamine all our leads and try to figure out where he'd go." Of all days and of all cases, Cragen didn't need his squad falling apart on this one.

"You know, I don't think Brown made Olivia and me for cops. Maybe he'd go back to the warehouse. He doesn't seem like the type of guy who'd have a lackey running his drug op," Elliot said.

"He also seems like the type of guy who'd invest in heavy surveillance and two unmarked cars on one block on the same night isn't exactly subtle," Cragen countered.

"So what do we do?" Fin asked.

"Well, we've established a clear enough pattern of his routine. So maybe we should split up and hope he visits some of his regular clients and bring him in for possession with intent to sell. At least that way he's off the streets while we build the rape-murder case against him," Olivia contributed.

Cragen thought for a bit and nodded, "That's our best shot for now. According to our sources his biggest buyers are…" Cragen consulted a list and ran his finger down the column until he found the names he was looking for. "…Mancini, Smith, and Andrews. Benson and Stabler, you guys take Mancini. Fin, take a uniform with you and tail Smith. Munch you're with me so I can bring you up to speed. We'll cover Andrews."

After receiving their orders, Elliot and Olivia grabbed their coats and left, but Fin stayed behind.

"Hey Cap, don't you think you should split them up?"

"I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I'm not going to hold their slip-up last night against them, and neither should you," Cragen said pointedly. "Besides, you didn't seem this hostile last night."

"I'm just tired of this Brown fiend." Fin sighed audibly and left.

* * *

Elliot and Olivia were sitting in the cruiser in front of Joe Mancini's brownstone. It was a quiet morning thus far and they hadn't seen anyone suspicious coming into or leaving the house. For the most part they themselves sat in silence, not sure what the other was thinking and if it was safe to bring up the events of the previous night. Finally, Olivia couldn't take it anymore and spoke up. "Look, El, maybe we should talk about what happened."

"We screwed up. That's it, end of story. There's nothing to talk about." He wouldn't even look at her.

Olivia was stunned by his terse response. "Umm… okay then…"

He turned in his seat and faced her, an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you and I don't blame you. It's just that what happened last night… well, would it be terrible to say that I wanted…"

"What?" Olivia probed when he hesitated, but he was clearly finding the whole situation extremely difficult to talk about.

Just as he was about to resume speaking, his cell phone rang. Olivia watched as he nodded a couple of times and simply said, "Alright, we'll meet you back at the station."

"What happened?"

"Looks like Brown fell into our trap. Cragen and Munch caught him at Jake Andrews's apartment dropping off a month's supply of cocaine." Elliot shifted the car into drive and they drove back to the station.

* * *

When they returned to the precinct, Olivia and Elliot were informed that Munch and Fin were in the interrogation room where they'd already started interviewing Martin Brown. As they walked into the room and took their places, Elliot leaning on a wall across from where Munch was standing and Olivia joining Fin at the table, Brown declared loudly, "Hey, it's the lovebirds!"

Elliot and Olivia sent each other a look. _How the hell did he recognize us?_

"Whatcha talking about?" Fin asked leaning forward, letting his elbows rest on the table.

"Hey, man, this guy…" Brown started, pointing at Elliot, "Must be damn talented. I mean, I don't know what he was doing to her but she looked like she was about to—"

"Okay, that's enough," Fin interrupted.

Brown laughed. "So you two work together, huh? Don't they call that…uh…what's the word?" He snapped his fingers several times, thinking hard. "Fraternization? Yeah, that's it!" Munch and Fin looked towards the mirror behind which they knew Cragen, joined by their ADA, was sporting an expression of severe disapproval. Olivia and Elliot however, were both glowering at Brown, but they didn't say a thing for fear of confirming his story. They didn't want to deny anything either lest they get caught in the lie.

This was not the way anyone imagined the interrogation would go. Munch finally broke the increasingly uncomfortable silence. "You must be mistaken. How do you know it was them?"

"Nah, nah, trust me, man. It was them. I'd remember that face…" Brown lifted his arm wanting to touch Olivia's face, but his hand couldn't quite close the distance because before anyone could stop him, Elliot had pulled it behind Brown's back, nearly breaking it.

"Try that again, you sick son of a bitch, and her face will be the last thing you touch!" Elliot nearly growled in his ear. To say that the other three detectives were shocked was a gross understatement. Fin was the first one to react and managed to haul Elliot off of Brown.

On the other side of the two-way mirror, Kim Greylek said, "Are they _trying_ to kill the case? The only thing we got out of the scumbag was that your detectives are breaking some serious regulations. Were you aware of this?"

"You said it, Kim. He's a scumbag! So who are you going to believe?" Cragen shook his head. "I'm sure that whatever they did, it was absolutely necessary. So don't you ever question my squad just because you hear unfounded accusations coming from a lowlife creep."

Cragen tapped on the window and opened the door. "Benson, Stabler, my office. Now." Without waiting to see if they were following him he walked to his office. Olivia and Elliot left the interrogation room, leaving Munch and Fin shaking their heads at Brown, whose already unfortunate looking face was made even uglier by the smug grin spread across it.

* * *

Elliot walked in behind Olivia and closed the door. Cragen sat at his desk, clearly at a loss for words, and studied the detectives with his head tilted. He didn't want what Brown said to be true, but he suspected that there was something between them for a long time now. He knew they were too close and that it was just a matter of time before something serious developed and jeopardized their judgment and their ability to remain professional. But if this was going to ruin his squad, he needed to take action.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Cragen spoke quietly.

To Elliot, it sounded like Cragen was already convinced of their guilt. "You're seriously going to take his word for it over ours?"

"So you're saying nothing happened?"

Olivia sure as hell wasn't going to stand back and let Elliot take all the heat. "Look, Cap, whatever he saw… it's not what you think. You told us to hide but there was nothing to hide behind so we needed some kind of cover."

He desperately wanted to believe them. "You guys are going to need something a whole lot more compelling when IAB gets wind of this, which, trust me, they will." He gave them a meaningful look. "That's all for now."

* * *

Elliot was the first to leave the office after their dismissal. Olivia wasn't entirely sure that it was the brightest idea to follow him… but it seemed much more appealing than going back into the interrogation room. Taking a deep breath, she headed up to the roof where Elliot had a tendency to go when he needed to calm himself down.

He knew she'd follow him up there and sure as day, there she was. Before she could say anything though, he spoke up, "Liv, I'm so sorry. This whole mess is my fault."

"Where are you getting this from?"

"I forced you into this situation."

"Elliot… you had to think fast and you saved both of our lives… so don't you dare apologize for that!"

Elliot shook his head. He knew that Olivia was just trying to make him feel better; he knew that she was worried, and all it took was one look into those beautiful brown orbs of hers to confirm that. Those jerks at IAB couldn't care less about the circumstances, and Olivia was right to be concerned over their jobs and their credibility. He just hated the fact that, once again, he was the one to blame.

He wanted to hold her and console her. This whole ordeal should have taught him that acting on his impulses, especially those concerning Olivia, could only end up badly. But as his gaze remained locked with hers, he could feel the warmth emanating from her melt his resolve and he couldn't stop his hands from grasping her face and covering her lips with his. The world around them all but ceased to exist as all sounds were drowned out by the beating of his heart and the crackling of something akin to electricity in the air.

A moment later Olivia finally, and reluctantly, pulled away. She would have loved to continue their conversation in its non-verbal form but her brain had begun demanding a fresh supply of air. Her chest heaved from her struggle to breathe normally and she could see that he was doing the same. She wanted to ask him what the kiss was about, not that she was complaining, but he suddenly turned to leave. "Where are you going?"

"I am _not_ letting you take the fall for this." And with that, he walked back in through the door.

Olivia remained standing alone on the roof wondering whether her descent into madness would be as swift as Elliot's. "Damn you," she said quietly to no one in particular.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary:** Elliot and Olivia find themselves in an awkward situation while chasing a suspect. EO.  
**Rating:** T, for language  
**Disclaimer:** The show and characters aren't mine. Trust me; you'd know if they were.  
**Pairing:** Olivia/Elliot  
**A/N:** I apologize for taking this long to update. The last few weeks have been extremely chaotic. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter as much as the others and that you continue with the reviews. They're great motivators!

* * *

**Caught**

**Chapter 3**

Frank Anderson was on the roof having his afternoon smoke, letting his worries escape bit by bit with every exhale. He was walking around aimlessly when he heard the door violently crash open. He was near the large vent enclosure and instinctively hid on the opposite end. Frank heard someone muttering angrily under their breath but could not discern who the voice belonged to or exactly what they were saying. He carefully sidled towards the edge of the smooth, metal surface and stole a glance. Great. It was Elliot fucking Stabler. Frank had some anger management issues, not uncommon for a cop. But unlike Stabler, who rose through the ranks and was constantly praised, all Frank ever got was a jacket full of complaints. He'd barely made it past uniform duties but was still often stuck doing the dirty work and paper pushing. It was sure proof that Cragen played favorites. Yeah, Frank was pretty bitter.

Frank wasn't one to suck up to anyone, especially to Stabler, so that wasn't why he considered saying 'hello'. No, evidently Stabler was in the bad mood and it would have made Frank's day a hell of a lot better if he could rile the idiot up enough to do something stupid. He didn't think it would be too difficult to accomplish since it was a common enough occurrence. He took one last, long drag of his cigarette before putting it out with his shoe and was about to take a step when the sound of the door opening for the second time stopped him. _Surprise, surprise_, he thought to himself. Of course it would be Benson. Anywhere Stabler went, she was surely close behind. He wondered about her too, about how a woman with less experience in the force than him became a detective before him. She was probably sleeping with someone over at 1 P.P.

Frank was stuck in his hiding spot; there was only one entrance and he wouldn't be able to get past them undetected. He could see that it was going to be a long wait; something had obviously taken place because they looked angry and were obviously in the middle of a heated discussion. He watched the pair closely, trying to figure out what it is they were saying but he couldn't hear anything. He mentally cursed them for choosing that particular moment to have one of their lover's quarrels. Just when he was starting to get really frustrated at having to wait he saw Stabler put his hands on Benson's face. Knowing it might be something he'd need to capture, he took out his cell phone just in time to snap a picture of the two detectives caught in a passionate kiss. Frank smiled wickedly to himself. He didn't know what he was going to do with the picture just yet, but it could only serve him well. _Thank God for these camera phones._

_

* * *

_

Olivia was worried. What the hell did Elliot mean when he said he "wasn't going to let her take the fall for this"? What was he going to do? Was he going to IAB to tell them he was responsible? That was definitely not a good idea in his current state of mind. Sgt. Tucker already had a personal vendetta against Elliot and she knew Tucker would use what little information he could to bring Elliot down and tarnish his reputation. She felt as if she was frozen to the spot for the past hour. Looking at her watch she saw that it had only been a minute and perhaps she could still catch up to Elliot. Forcing her body into action, she entered the building and ran down the stairs, heading for the locker room. She hoped that he was still in there gathering his things and as she approached the door she heard a loud thud. A wave of panic coursed through her body and for a moment she feared that instead of heading to IAB, Elliot was going to try and beat Brown into a silent pulp. Not that she didn't want the satisfaction of doing so herself, but she knew it would only make the situation that much worse. But when she walked in she realized that Elliot was alone, and instead of beating up Brown he was taking out all of his frustrations on a defenseless locker. Judging from the sizable dent, the locker didn't stand a fighting chance.

"Elliot," she tried to get his attention but to no avail; he was too engrossed in what he was doing. She tried again, louder this time, and he turned around, his eyes dilated and wild. For a minute she pictured him breathing fire, but she shook the image away. Olivia found it slightly disturbing that his anger stirred something inside of her and made her that much more attracted to him. Elliot said nothing, he merely continued to look at her, and that worried her. What was wrong with him? "What were you planning on doing?"

"It doesn't matter, Liv. All you need to know is that I'll take care of everything."

"How? You storming into Tucker's office all red-eyed and seething is only going to make things worse. It's going to look like we're actually guilty of something, which we're not. The best thing right now is to keep our heads down and keep doing our job. We'll figure something out when the time comes. Together." She'd walked closer to him and cautiously put her hand on his arm. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but there was no harm in being careful.

"You know my history with the IAB and you know that they'll do whatever they can to take my badge away. They're not going to care that you'll be dragged down into the dirt with me."

"Let them do it, and I'll fight with you. But there's no reason to give them any more ammunition than they already have, which probably amounts to nothing. There's no one to corroborate Brown's story, so it's basically our word against that of a drug dealer."

"Yeah, well, we all know how much Tucker values my word," Elliot retorted sarcastically, but he knew Olivia was right. He took a deep breath in let it out, his anger ebbing away slowly and gradually. That was one of the many reasons why they worked so well together. She had this calming influence over him and could talk him down from any ledge no matter how angry he was. He nodded and let her take his bleeding fists to examine and clean up. "But what do we do about everyone else? I'm pretty sure they all think that we're…" Elliot stopped mid-sentence, unable to verbalize the thought.

"We'll just have to convince them that there's nothing going on between us." Olivia looked down and focused on scrubbing and disinfecting his wounded knuckles more than was necessary.

What confused her most was not knowing whether they'd be lying to everyone or telling the truth. It scared her that she didn't know which one she wanted it to be.

"Right," Elliot replied absently and grimaced as the iodine came into contact with his raw wound.

* * *

Cragen was having a exceptionally awful day. Between the seemingly botched Brown case, the pressure he was under from the Chief of Detectives, and what was sure to turn into a scandal with Olivia and Elliot, he couldn't even leave the station for five minutes to get a decent cup of coffee. He took a sip from his mug and immediately spat it out; he'd forgotten how long that particular cup had been sitting neglected on his desk. Contrary to popular opinion, their brand of squad room coffee could indeed get worse. "Shit!" Cragen exclaimed, as he looked down at his desk and realized he'd spat all over the reports, which he'd now have to redo. To make matters worse he'd forgotten to save his work in his aggravated haste. This was going to be a start-from-scratch job. Cragen wondered how he was still sober or how he hadn't quit yet. Out of frustration, Cragen laughed to himself. The more he thought about his day, hell, the whole past month, the harder he laughed and soon the chuckling fit developed into what could only be accurately described as a spastic attack to any potential and unaware onlookers. Coincidentally, that's what Munch and Fin thought was happening to him upon entering the office.

"Uh… Cap? You been makin' trips down to the narcotics evidence room?" Fin asked, only half-joking.

That only made him laugh harder. "Good… idea…"

He tried to say something else but he couldn't stop laughing long enough to do so. Instead he used his hand to motion them fully inside and close the door behind them. Cragen laughed on, Munch's raised eyebrow and Fin's furrowed forehead only served to fuel the hilarity.

"I think he's having a nervous breakdown. I'll call Huang," Munch said solemnly and turned to leave the office.

Cragen was finally starting to calm down. He wiped a tear with one hand and waved for Munch to stop with the other. "No, no, I'm alright. God, I haven't laughed that hard since…" Cragen paused and thought hard. "Since… well, never." Cragen took a couple of deep breaths and his usual serious expression slowly returned. "Please tell me you have good news."

Munch and Fin glanced at each other ominously. _What now? _Cragen thought.

"Brown lawyered up before we could get a damn word out of him. Between what I think he's got on Olivia and Elliot and Elliot's little maneuver… we're in trouble. We need to move fast on the rape-murder charges."

Cragen thought as much. Just then Olivia and Elliot walked back into the bullpen and towards them.

"So you two kiss and make up?" John asked. He thought it would alleviate some of the tension, but apparently no one else agreed. Elliot flared his nostrils and towered over Munch threateningly but Cragen stepped between them. "Stop it. Both of you. Of all things I don't need grown-up men to act like preschoolers."

Cragen's tired voice did the trick and everyone relaxed. Fin uttered the question on everyone's mind, "So what do we do now?"

Cragen thought for a moment and said, "We'll let Greylek work on the drug charges, which should buy us time… but not too much. His lawyer will probably get him a deal. In the meantime, we'll go back to the victim and bring her in for a lineup."

"I don't know how well that's going to go. It was dark and she didn't get a very good look at his face…" Elliot expressed his doubt.

"Well, without forensics, there's not much else left. Unless there's a chance of getting a confession…?" Cragen gave him a pointed look.

Elliot had no argument. He merely cleared his throat and said, "Alright, let's bring Ashley in for that lineup."

* * *

The lineup was, unsurprisingly, disastrous. Everyone knew Brown was guilty but their victim couldn't confirm their suspicions. She didn't recognize Brown or any of the other men from previous instances. Without a positive ID, all their evidence was circumstantial and even a shoddy defense attorney would be able to convince a judge to dismiss the case entirely. Their only consolation was that Brown would be held in custody overnight as he waited for his arraignment hearing come morning on the drug trafficking charges. The consolation, however, was largely overshadowed by the fact that they'd had to explain and reassure the victim that the case was not doomed because of her inability to point Brown out.

Everyone was frustrated, exhausted, and running out of patience. They had no new leads to follow, short of him attacking someone else. Elliot and Olivia were feeling the pressure more than anyone else, though. They couldn't believe that a brutal rapist like Brown might go free because his lawyer could potentially argue that their incompetence led to his arrest. The only thing that alleviated their guilt was that it was at least shared between the two of them.

It was late and they were all still at the precinct having reworked the case from every possible angle. "Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll be dumb enough to brag about what he thinks he's getting away with," Olivia said to herself.

"Hey, who's that talking to Frank over there?" Fin asked, pointing to the hallway.

"That's Natalie Dunne, Brown's girlfriend. She was his alibi, but her story didn't fully convince me," Elliot said, standing up and heading over to the pair. "Thanks, Anderson, I can take it from here." He started leading Natalie away, wanting to talk to her in one of the interview rooms. He was extremely curious as to what she was doing here and why she appeared so distressed.

"Don't worry, Stabler, I'm doing just fine here. I can take Ms. Dunne's statement."

"Anything Ms. Dunne has to say is pertinent to my case. Besides, I'm sure you have far more… um… pressing matters to attend to." Elliot smiled condescendingly at Frank and led Natalie away, leaving behind an incensed Frank.


End file.
